


Wonder is Madness

by feeling_diom



Category: Alice In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland (Movies - Burton), American McGee's Alice, Original Work
Genre: Along for the Ride - Freeform, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Horror, Childhood Trauma, F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Original Character, Trauma, i had an idea, i made wonderland scary, its gonna be weird, not american mcgee scary but a different scary i dont even know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-01-16 16:31:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 7,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18525334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feeling_diom/pseuds/feeling_diom
Summary: Lewis Carroll is a doctor at the Renaissance Mental Hospital in 1965 treating a 7 year old girl named Alys L'Del. The child arrived at the hospital gates covered in blood she claimed was not her own, and is in treatment for hallucinations and hysteric tendencies.Transitioning between Dr. Carroll's recorded tapes and Alys's memories, this is a horror fic of the darker side of the childhood story we all know and love.





	1. Tape 1

Tape 1

 

[The tape begins recording. After a few seconds, a chair scrapes across the floor]

 

C: Good morning, Alys. I see Nurse Wright gave you a stuffed rabbit this morning. Have you named him yet?

 

A: [incoherent mumbling]

 

C: Come again?

  
A: [louder] I don’t like rabbits.

 

C: Ah, I see. I’ll tell her as soon as I see her. May I ask why you don’t like rabbits? Are you allergic?

 

A: No. I just don’t like rabbits. The White Rabbit ruined them for me.

 

C: A white rabbit ruined them for you?

 

A: _The_ White Rabbit. Not _A. The._

 

C: Alys, there is more than one white rabbit in the world.

 

A: Not in Underland. All the others were killed.

 

C: Ah. Not in Underland, yes...What killed them, Alys?

 

A: The Red Queen.

 

C: Why did the Queen kill them, Alys?

 

[ten seconds of silence pass]

 

C: Alys?

 

A: I don’t know. She kills everyone without thinking. Maybe they resisted her. She hates that…

 

C: Ah. I see. Why did the last White Rabbit ruin rabbits for you?

 

A: [incoherent mumbling]

 

C: Speak up, please.

 

A: He helps her. He finds us.

  
C: Who is ‘us?’

 

A: Other children. He finds them. Then he takes them to the Queen, and she kills them…

 

C: All of them?

 

A: The ones he takes to them. Yeah. She kills them.

 

C: What about you?

  
A: I ran away.

 

C: You ran away from the Rabbit?

 

A: Yeah.

 

C: How did you know he was going to kill you if you followed?   
  
A: Chess told me.

 

C: Chess?

  
A: Yeah.

 

C: Who’s Chess?

 

[silence]

 

C: Alys? Who’s Chess?

 

A: I promised I wouldn’t tell.

  
C: You promised?

 

A: Yeah, I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone about him. So he’d be safe.

 

C: So Chess told you the Rabbit would kill you if you went with him…

  
A: Yeah.

 

C: How did you know Chess was telling the truth?

 

A: I trust him.

 

C: Alys, I can’t help you unless you’re open with me. Do you trust me?

 

A: Not really…

  
C: Why not?

 

A: You’re wearing her colors.

  
C: Her colors?

  
A: Yeah. The White Queen.

 

C: If the Red Queen kills, isn’t the White Queen merciful?

 

A: [giggles] No. They’re the same person. The White Queen is the Red Queen when she’s not murdery.

 

C: Ah. I see. And I’m wearing her colors…

 

A: Uh-huh.

 

C:...so you don’t trust me.

  
A: No.

 

C: I’ll tell you what, Alys. Trust me for now. Okay? We can work together to help understand what happened to you.

 

A: I understand already.

 

C: Do you?

 

A: Yeah. I went to another world.

 

C: Well, we don’t know what happened to you. We don’t quite understand. I can give you my word Chess will be safe- but you need to cooperate with me, too, okay Alys? We’ll resume tomorrow.

  
A: okay.

 

[the chair is pushed back in. A few seconds of silence pass, then the tape shuts off]

 


	2. Down the Rabbit Hole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> eyo so im still getting used to this writing style and format so it might be a little bad but yea

I woke up on cold floor. My head hurt, everything hurt, and it was a little hard to breathe. I panicked, struggling to move. I kept thinking  _ I’m gonna die _ , but I didn’t. 

I remembered falling. Falling. Falling. It didn’t stop. It went on forever. But here I am, stopped, on the floor. Why was I on a floor? 

There had been a rabbit. A rabbit wearing a red coat, bouncing with impatience. “Up,” he said, “get up! Time to go! We’re late!”

“Late for what?” I’d asked. “Why are we rushed?”

He stuck his watch in his pocket, huffing as I stood up, rubbing my eyes from my earlier nap. He tapped his foot impatiently, and snapped, “Hurry up, the Queen is waiting.”

“But I’m not dressed to meet a queen!” I’d exclaimed, “My dress is dirty from playing outside, I can’t meet a queen like this!” 

“Doesn’t matter,” he rushed back, “let’s _go_. We’re _late_.”

I couldn’t be late to meet a queen. I already looked a mess. So I followed, followed as he ran past the fields into the forests. I didn’t stop, until I lost sight of him. 

I looked around, before feeling the ground be pulled from my feet. 

Falling.   
Falling. 

It never stopped. 

Until it did.

Shaking, I sat up, putting a hand to my aching head. My stomach did little dances that I hated. I looked around and saw doors. Doors everywhere. Why so many doors? 

I blink, and there was a table. I must not have seen it before. There was a bottle, full of blood red liquid.  

_ Drink me! _ It said. I picked it up. I drank it. It burned my throat, and I coughed. Red stained my hand. I didn’t know if it was drink or blood. My head swam again, and my legs suddenly didn’t work and I was back on the floor. 

Everything was huge. Giant. It was like everything grew twenty thousand feet, as I struggled to get up. I felt sick. I saw a tiny door now, one in the cracks of the walls. I went to it. I turned the knob, and it opened.

I saw the rabbit, and he ushered for me to continue. So I walked through the door, and it was beautiful outside. There were a bunch of singing blackbirds and flowers.

It was dark, as if it were midnight. I couldn’t see. So I called out to the rabbit, barely visible in the darkness,

“Mr. Rabbit, why is it so dark?”

“It’s night. Hush, we need to hurry! The Queen is waiting!”

I nodded, although he couldn’t see, as i looked around. Some flowers glowed softly in the night, others were invisible. 

I thought I saw someone in the corner of my eye, but when I turned to see who, there was nothing. I continued walking in the garden, following the white rabbit while I looked around with a smile. 

I took another step, and yelped in surprise as I felt a hand grab my wrist and sharply pull me away. They pulled me back into the trees, covering my mouth as we watched the rabbit turn around and begin looking again for me. 

“Not a sound.” I heard them breathe in my ear, as they held me close. For some reason, I listened. They didn’t seem hostile. Did I know what hostile felt like? No. But they didn’t seem it.

They pulled me further into the woods, and I barely saw their silhouette in the cloak of night. The only thing I knew for sure was that they still held onto my wrist tightly, as if I would run away. I wouldn’t know where to go if i tried.  

Eventually, they turned around and sat down, pulling me with them. 

I couldn’t take it anymore. 

“Who are you?” I asked, loudly. A hand was over my mouth in an instant. 

“Call me Chess.” I heard them whisper, and I almost heard their smile. They pulled their hand away, and I turned to look around us.

“Who are  _ you _ ?” He said, whispering louder. 

“Alys.” I responded.

I felt him smile again, but the words he said next were far from good news. 

“You have to be careful around here, Alys. Everyone’s off their rocker. You could get hurt. Or killed.” 

I stared at him, as the wind disturbed the grass next to us. I could tell he was serious, and a heavy stone of fear fell into my stomach. 

“I could die?” I asked, my voice suddenly small. 

“Or worse.” He spoke in low tones, a warning. Yet still somehow light, joking. 

“I’ve seen her do much worse than kill a child.” 

A wind whistled by them, causing me to shiver. I stared at Chess, brushing back my hair and looking away when he smirked. 

“How can I trust you?” I finally asked, bursting with a thousand other questions. Chess’ smirk only grew. 

“I suppose you can’t, Alys. But I’d rather be with me than the Rabbit.” 

I was about to ask what he meant, when i heard a scream pierce the night. 


	3. Tape 2

C: Hello again, Alys. Did you sleep well?   
  


A: I slept fine.

 

C: Good, good. Now, yesterday we left off on Chess, correct?

  
A: uh-huh.

  
C: Do you mind telling me about him? 

 

A: I’d rather not. Please. Can we talk about something else?

  
C: Very well then. We’ll come back to Chess. For now, can you explain more to me about the Queen?

 

A: She...Her name’s Nolentine. She wants to kill children..

  
C: And you said yesterday you don’t know why.

  
A: No. I said I didn’t know why she killed the Rabbits. I know why she kills the children. 

 

C: Why does she kill the children?

 

A: Their souls. She eats them. They keep her young, and make her powerful. 

  
C: Why would children’s souls make her powerful?   
  


A: Because they’re closer to the magic world. 

  
C: The magic world?    
  
A: Yeah. I don’t know what it is, but apparently children are closer to it, so they have stronger souls. She told me-

 

C: Who told you?   
  
A: The Queen. 

 

C: I thought she killed all the children. You said you escaped her.    
  
A: I escaped the Rabbit, not her. She found me later.    
  
C: How come she didn’t kill you?   
  
A: Chess found me.    
  
C: Chess found you again?   
  
A: He always finds me. 

  
C: Ah. I see. So the Queen told you..?

 

A: The Queen told me that younger children are better, because the younger they are, the stronger they are.    
  
C: And how powerful is the Queen? 

  
A: Very. She can do things with her mind.    
  
C: What sort of things?    
  
A: Make people see things. She’s great at that. 

 

C: What else can she do?

  
A: She kills people.    
  
C: You’ve mentioned that. How does she kill people, Alys? 

 

A: She plays a game. 

  
C: A game? Like tag, or hide and seek?

 

A: Sorta. She plays croquet.    
  
C: And what happens if the person wins?

  
A: They don’t. She cheats at everything. She even uses human heads as the croquet balls.    
  
C: Human heads? 

  
A: Yeah.    
  
C: Why human heads, Alys?

 

A: She likes making other people horrified. She loves it. 

  
C: Is there anyone in your family like that, Alys?    
  
A: My mother, a little, why? 

C: I’m just taking in the information you told me with what the staff told me. They told me you said you ‘woke up’ from this place, correct?

 

A: Yeah.

  
C: How did you get covered in blood, Alys, blood you claimed wasn’t yours? 

  
A: There was a battle. 

 

C: A battle?    
  
A: More like a murder fest. The Queen snapped again. She killed everyone.    
  
C: Everyone..but you.   
  
A: Yeah.    
  
C: Why do you think you were spared? 

 

A: She didn’t see me.    
  
C: Why not?    
  
A: Chess found me. He hid us. 

  
C: Hm. So this massacre left you covered in blood, and you woke up?    
  
A: I didn’t just ‘wake up.’ Chess took me to the exit.    
  
C: The exit?    
  
A: Yeah, a portal. He told me to go, and that he’d follow. He said he’d find me. 

 

C: Ah. I see. Well, Alys, I was asking about your family to take into account that maybe this was simply a dream.    
  
A: You don’t believe me? 

  
C: I believe you’re telling me your side of the story, Alys, and that’s all that matters. Now, why didn’t the Queen kill you immediately? 

  
A: I don’t know. 

  
C: Did she tell you why? 

  
A: No.    
  
C: So you have no idea why she didn’t kill you on sight?

  
A: No. 

 

C: Alright. How are you feeling, Alys? You look uncomfortable.    
  
A: I feel sick…

  
C: Very well, we can stop for today. Rest up, Alys. I feel like we’re getting closer to understanding.    
  
A: Okay...


	4. Chapter 4

“What was that?” I turned quickly to Chess, who was smirking. He got up, holding his hand out to me. 

“That, my dear Alys, would be the sound of the Queen’s Dodo bird.”   
“A dodo?” I stared at him, taking his hand. “Those dumb birds that went extinct years ago?”

“Oh, they aren’t dumb. Definitely not extinct, either. The Queen keeps them in hordes. They’re excellent trackers, and I do believe they just caught onto our little game of hide and seek..” 

“A game!” I turn to look behind us, where another high pitched scream resounded. 

“Is that all this is to you? We could get killed, or worse, like you just said-” 

“Calm down.” He said, smiling still.  “We aren’t going to get caught.” 

“Why wouldn’t we, you just said they were-”

“Forget what I just said, Alys, that’s in the past. We’re in the present now, try to keep up. Come along, now.” He started walking, still holding my hand, and I had no choice but to follow. My heart pounded in my chest, and I just wanted to go home. I wanted my family and warm surroundings back. 

“What now?” I ask quietly, “How do you know we’re safe?” 

He didn’t look at me, but I  _ knew  _ he was smirking again. 

“I don’t. But I do know the Dodo is deaf and blind, so it can’t see or hear us. Only smell. And if it took the Queen about a minute and a half to unleash the bird, and it took it ten seconds to find our trail, it should already have been upon us by now. And while we hear a bird-” there was another screech- “We don’t see one. So it’s pretty safe to assume we’re safe for now.”

“W-What happens if it..”

“Finds us? Oh, probably something awful.” 

Curiosity hurt my chest, and I kept glancing behind me, despite being terrified of what I might see.   
“Where are we going?” I managed, looking back to him.   
“Does it matter? You go anywhere in one direction and you’ll end up somewhere.” 

Another screech from the bird made me yelp and run closer to Chess, gripping his hand as if I would be pulled from it and into Death in an instant- which, given the situation, I might have. But all he did was laugh. 

“Timid little creature, aren’t you?” 

“I’m  _ not _ timid!” I fumed, but I kept nervously glancing behind us. My heart was stuck in my throat and going a hundred beats a second, and my hands were shaking where I was clinging to Chess. 

He laughed again, accepting my clutch, as he looked at me with catlike green eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness. They must be glowing, if I could see them, I thought with a small shiver.  

“Sure you are. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be cutting the circulation off my hand and arm right now.”   
I forced myself to let go, but the next screech of the ever-nearing bird made me go right back to him. I wanted to slap him when he laughed again. 

“Stop mocking me!” I snapped, glaring at him. “It’s dark, I don’t want to get lost, is all!” 

“Oh, of course, Alys.” He responded, his voice showing his smile. “And the sound of Death approaching us is definitely the perfect time to realize you wouldn’t like to get lost. But we already are.” 

“What? What do you mean we’re lost?”   
“Well, take it any way you’d like- it doesn’t matter. We’re lost in the head, _definitely_ lost out here. At this point I believe we’ve made so many circles it won’t matter where we go, because the Dodo will be flying over the same spot for hours.” Here he laughed again, looking back at me. 

“Won’t that be a fun game for the Queen to play? She’ll think her precious Dodo is broken.” His laugh filled the air once more, and this time, I couldn’t help but giggle nervously back. Pretty soon though, I couldn’t stop laughing. 

“How curious this situation is!” I gasp, before collapsing back into laughter. “And to think only this morning the only thing I worried about was what I’d eat for breakfast!” 

Chess and I fell into laughter, but the screech of the bird shut me up. It sounded so close, I glanced up to make sure there was no giant creature looming above us. When it called out its piercing, chilling scream, I drew closer to Chess. A rush of wind passed us and I saw its shadow. I froze, unable to keep walking. 

“Keep walking, Alys.” Chess’s voice was no longer laughing, but low and serious again. “It can’t sense movement.”

“It’s a bird, of course it can!” I whisper, shaking. 

“Not this bird. You’re not on Earth anymore, Alys, things aren’t as they seem.” 

He pulls me along, and my feet weigh down with each step as if they were made of lead. I hold on to Chess tightly, and he started chatting to lighten the mood. I could barely listen, focusing instead on the cries of the bird and the way the darkness seemed to make it louder.   
“Chess.” I managed, interrupting him with a quiet whisper. “Are we really going in circles?”

“Not anymore.” He said, smiling. 

“How can you be sure? I can’t see a thing here..”

“Ah, who needs sight? The sun will rise soon. And I’ve walked this garden a thousand times before.”   
“Do you know where we’re going yet?” 

“Somewhere safe,” he assured me. “There won’t be any Dodos or Rabbits, if that’s what you mean.”

“Will there be something else?”

He laughed, squeezing my hand. “There’s always something else, Alys. This is just a rare breed of something else. The type that doesn’t want to kill you.”

“How many other breeds are there?” 

“Just one.”

“The type that _does_ want to kill you?” I guess, looking at him. He laughed instead, shaking his head.  
“Ah, make that two.”   
“What’s the other?” The question fell from my lips and I realized I probably didn’t want to know. He answered anyway, smirking.

“The one that succeeds.”


	5. Interlude the First

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something new is discovered about Queen Nolentine

The Queen’s castle was made with blood, sweat, and tears. Quite literally. 

She began her reign with a new start for the world, a new castle built just for her. She had it all planned in her mind- a castle seen for miles around. A castle so large and glamorous every citizen would stare in awe at her power. Roughly thousands of souls had been lost into the construction, and it was the rumor of every Underlander that at night, you could hear the screams of the innocent from the castle. 

Then, Nolentine found the powers of the children’s souls. Curious little creatures, that lit up at any new object. 

These souls were strongest. Souls that could keep a ruler powerful for a lifetime. 

She never had enough. 

She sent out her Rabbits to hunt children down, to bring to her their souls. 

And then there came a day when she decided that she’d have a child of her own. She’d harvest souls herself. 

When it finally was heard that the Queen had given birth to an Heir, the entire kingdom fell silent with fear. Fear for themselves, for Underland. 

They held their breaths for the moment when the Heir would die. 


	6. Tape 3

 

Tape 3 

 

C: Alys. You’re looking much healthier than yesterday. Did you sleep well?

 

A: you say that a lot.   
  


C: It’s what we say, dear. We ask out of consideration. Now..

 

A: I want to talk about Chess. 

 

C: You do?   
  
A: just a little. I don’t want to think about the Queen anymore. She makes me sick. 

  
C: I see. 

 

A: Chess makes me feel better. So I want to talk about him.    
  
C: Alright. Is there anywhere you’d like to begin?

 

A: …

  
C: Alright… let’s see. You mentioned that Chess always found you. And that he always protected you. 

 

A: Yeah.    
  
C: Why was he called ‘Chess?’

 

A: He loved the game. 

  
C: That’s it?   
  
A: Yeah. He loved the game, so he called himself after it. 

 

C: Do you know his real name?   
  


A: Yeah.    
  
C: What is it?

 

A: ….

  
C: Too far, I see. Alright. So, why did he always find you? Why didn’t he leave you behind?

 

A: We were friends. You don’t leave friends behind.

 

C: How did you come to trust him?

 

A: I just...did. It wasn’t hard…

 

C: Was there anything about him that told you he was trustworthy?

 

A: Um...i guess his smile.

 

C: His smile?   
  
A: Yeah. He smiled all the time. Even if it was scary outside, he smiled, and laughed it off. It helped me calm down a lot. 

 

C: I see.

 

A: Okay. that’s it.

 

C: That’s it?   
  


A: That’s all I wanna talk about with Chess.

 

C: Do you mind if I ask you some questions about him?   
  
A: Fine..   
  


C: How does Chess always find you? 

  
A: I don’t know. He just did.

 

C: Did he tell you?

 

A: No.

  
C: Have you ever ran away from him?   
  
A: ….no. 

 

C:  You hesitated, Alys.

 

A: I never ran away from him. 

 

C: Why not?   
  


A: Because I couldn’t.

 

C: Why couldn’t you?   
  


A: I just couldn’t. Something about him. I could never run from him.   
  
C: What if he was like the Queen, and would have killed you?

 

A: ….

 

C: Alys?

  
A: I would have died. 

 

C: You would have-

 

[tape cuts off]


	7. The Caterpillar

Chess led me down to something that resembled a giant mushroom. It definitely _looked_ like a mushroom, but I wasn’t entirely sure.

On top of it lay a giant blue caterpillar, smoking a hookah. It wasn’t a hookah I had ever seen, though; it had deep purple smoke, almost red, and I began seeing the world start to wave. I felt myself start to sway to unheard music, and I began to close my eyes to relax when Chess pulled me back a few steps.

“Careful, Alys. Noxum’s fumes have killed some,” he said, warily eyeing the caterpillar. I looked at him, slowly nodding and taking another step back, to be safe.

The caterpillar stared at me, blowing smoke in my face, causing the world to shift again.

“Noxum,” Chess warned, “If you hurt her…”

“I’ll do no such thing, boy. Bring the girl to me. If she does this _right,_ then you won’t need to worry about her safebeing.”

I felt Chess hold my hand a little tighter, before he let go.

“Go.” He said, voice low.

“I’ll be right here.”

I nodded, shakily going closer to the mushroom. I stepped on a spongy material, and went flying in the air. I landed in front of Noxum, and I realized he was much larger than I thought. He must have been as tall as a house, and his eyes were an inky black.

I shivered, holding my arm.

“Timid little creature, aren’t you?” He mused, blowing smoke in my face. I coughed, seeing Chess, saying the same thing.

“There are worse things in store for you, Alys..”

I opened my eyes, wondering why his voice slowly faded, and I was in the courtyard of a garden. I was at castle.

I blinked, beginning to wander. I didn’t know what was here. What happened to Chess, to Noxum?

I heard voices. When I turned to look, I saw the prettiest woman I’d ever seen staring at me.

But her eyes scared me. They were watching me hungrily, with fire in them. I took a step back.

“I’ll find you.” She cooed at me, as if she were talking to a baby. “You can’t run from me…” she closed her eyes, smirking to herself. “ _Alys._ I’ll always find you.”

I took another step back, and I was falling again. I heard Chess cry out my name, and when I blinked, I was in his arms. The courtyard was gone. I couldn’t breathe, every breath seemed forced. He pulled me close, and I clung to him, trying to process what had happened.

“You’re safe.” Chess whispered, “I know it doesn’t feel like it, but you are. Whatever you saw can’t hurt you here.”

“I-I saw..” _What_ had I seen? I didn’t understand.

“A-A woman..She said she’d always find me..”

“You saw the Queen.” He said gently, and I shivered. He glared up at Noxum.

“What was the meaning of that? Showing her that monster? What’s your purpose?”

“It’s not my purpose, boy, but hers.” Noxum spat at him, “And if you don’t want to be another soul in Nolentine’s repertoire, you’d better bite your tongue.”

Chess fell silent, anger blazing in his green eyes.

“Come on, Alys.” He said slowly, helping me up. “Let’s get out of here.”  
“Wait.” Noxum called, “I wouldn’t go so fast, if I were you.”

“Good thing you’re not us, then,” Chess snapped, “Or we’d might actually listen.”

“If you expect to return her to the Looking Glass, I would.” He drawled, and I turned to look at him. He watched me evenly, taking a long puff of the hookah.

“You, girl. Come back to me.”

I took a step, and Chess held onto me. Pulling me back, he whispered in my ear.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” His voice was soft, worried.

“We can leave. I didn’t think he’d want you to come.”

I turned to look back at Noxum, and he looked bored. He didn’t care if I went to him or not.

I think it was that realization that made me pull away from Chess and walk towards him. I saw him smirk at me, blowing rings of blood-colored smoke around me. The last was a cloud, and I was suddenly alone. No caterpillar, no Chess. Only a ring of toadstools remained.

A folded-up piece of paper was in my hand. Opening it, it read:

  


_We be the seeds of mushroom old_

_We’ve lived through heat; we’ve lived through cold_

_Our kind is now for tricks and jest_

_And now it’s time for a little test_

 

_One of us will grant you height_

_Another lets you dance with sprites_

_Beware our third, our fearsome brother_

_For his tricks are ne’er discovered_

_Similar to he is sister dear_

_Who grants you gifts of wisdom clear_

_Take us all, if you must_

_Our games are jest and its safe to trust_

_Perhaps tis all but a lovely lie_

_That will pave the path to which you’ll die_

_Until the choice is sealed and done_

_Will we give up our game of fun_

 

_Be careful to which one you choose_

_For truth and lie are oft’ confused_

 

I stared, half of these words having no meaning in my head. I looked at the small toadstools in front of me, and I thought I heard laughter ring among them. Scowling, I picked them all up.

I didn’t have time to work out which ones were which.

I turned around, the mushrooms in my arms, and I saw Chess looking at me with a raised brow.

“Are you going to eat all of those?”

“Shut up.” I muttered, sighing, “I didn’t know what the paper said.”

“What paper?”  
I handed the paper to him, and he read it, then laughed. I stared at him, wondering what was so funny in the paper.

“It’s a riddle, yes, but it’s an Underland riddle, Alys. Most people hang around for hours trying to figure out the right one, since they don’t trust taking all of them. And you just…” He laughed, “Your scowl says you just grabbed them without even thinking!”

“I did.” I mutter, “Because I didn’t care. I didn’t understand it, so I grabbed them all.”

Chess laughed again, folding the paper up again and handing it back to me.

“You, Alys, are the strangest creature I think exists down here.”

I had nothing to say, so I just smiled.

He took my hand, and I held the small mushrooms in one arm propped against my chest.

“Come, Alys,” he smiled, “I’d like to show you the Pool of Tears.”


	8. Tape 4

C: Hello again, Alys. I’m guessing looking at the bags under your eyes that you didn’t sleep well?

  
A: No. 

 

C: Did you have nightmares?

 

A: Yeah.    
  
C: What were they about?

 

A: ….

 

C: Alys, remember what we talked about. Trust. I can’t help you unless you help me.

 

A: I had a dream about Nolentine.

 

C: And you said Nolentine was the Queen, correct?   
  


A: yeah. 

 

C: What about her?

 

A: She said she’d always find me. 

 

C: In your dream, did Chess help you, like he did the other times?

  
A: No.

  
C: Did you see him at all?

 

A: No. 

 

C: Did anyone help you?   
  


A: [quietly] ...no.

 

C: You’re safe here, Alys. Mind telling me more?

A: I don’t remember it.

 

C: Ah, I see.

 

[10 seconds of silence pass]

 

C: Well, Alys. We need to continue.

 

A: How is this helping me?

 

C: Sometimes, a step by step recall of memories helps the mind process it further. What we’re trying to do is understand what happened to you.

 

A: And what do you have so far?

 

C: Not enough, Alys. We’ve only visited four times. We’ll need a lot more to understand what happened to you.

 

A: Like what?

 

C: Well, like what you saw down there. Chess seems to be a constant in your stories, maybe we can start there- was he your guide?

 

A: Yeah. He knew everywhere around Underland. 

 

C: Do you know why? 

 

A: Yeah. 

  
C: Why? 

 

A: [pauses] he was a child who escaped Nolentine. 

 

C: He escaped her? How?

  
A: She just never killed him. She let him go. 

  
C: Why would she do that?

 

A: I dunno. Knowing Chess, he probably tricked her. He was great at tricks. 

 

C: I see. So he was a child who escaped.

 

A: Yeah. 

 

C: Why did he help you? Do you know why for that?

 

A: No. I asked him all the time, but he always dodged the question. 

 

C: How so? 

  
A: Well, one time, I asked him why, and he shrugged with a laugh. But I knew he had a reason-

  
C: How?   
  
A: Huh? 

  
C: How did you know he had a reason? 

  
A: It was in his eyes. He took too long to shrug. 

 

C: Alright. Continue. 

 

A: Another time, he said that it was because I was too weird to be taken to Nolentine. 

 

C: Was that true?

  
A: Maybe. It wasn’t the real reason though. 

 

C: Any others? 

  
A: Lots. I asked it all the time. 

  
C: And he never answered you directly. 

  
A: No. 

  
C: Did you find that suspicious at all? 

 

A: Why would I?

 

C: Well, he never gave you a reason- is it possible that he was leading you to the Queen all along?   
  


A: No. You can see the castle from miles away in Underland. He always made sure our backs were facing it. He always led me away from there. 

 

C: Then how did you end up getting captured? 

 

A: The twins found us. 

 

C: The twins? 

  
A: Yeah, the Tweedle twins. 

 

C: Tweedle? That’s an odd name for them. 

 

A: It wasn’t their names. Tweedles were a species, like the Rabbits, that the Queen killed all except for them. 

  
C: Ah. So the Tweedles...you said found ‘us,’ as in Chess, I presume?   
  
A: Yeah. 

  
C: How come he wasn’t captured? 

  
A: He ran away.

 

C: Without you?

 

A: He tried. They pulled me back, and hit my head. I woke up in the dungeons. 

 

C: Ah. How long were you down there?   
  
A: I dunno. Why so many questions?

 

C: Questions elicit responses, Alys. 

 

A: What’s elicit mean?    
  
C: Sort of like summoning. Questions call for answers. You’ve been answering, and that’s helping me understand your side of the story-

 

A: You still don’t believe me. 

 

C: I don’t know yet, Alys. We’ve never seen anything like a case like yours. It’s why we aren’t doing the normal treatment. 

  
A: What’s the normal treatment? 

 

C: None of your concern, Alys. We’re here to focus on you. However, your bags are so deep they’ve become mattresses- we can’t continue for today.

 

A: Okay.    
  
C: Go back to your room, get some sleep. We’ll talk more next time.

 

A: Okay. 

 

[ten seconds of silence pass, and the tape clicks off]


	9. Interlude the Second: Character Questionnaire!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lol, i got bored and I'm still working on the Pool of Tears (would call it a chapter number but i lost count ;-;)  
> SO i had the totally unoriginal idea to do a Wonder is Madness SPECIAL 
> 
> C H A R A C T E R Q U E S T I O N N A I R E. 
> 
> Lol I've been entertaining this for a while, so you guys can get a little bit more of a reading of the characters

LETS START WITH BASIC INFORMATION BEFORE WE GET TO THE TALKSHOW INTERVAL  
  
  


(as you can see i'm super duper bored and want to laugh at this. Will it be cheesy? Yes. Very. Will it be funny? Hopefully. My humor is different than yours. I respect that.)  
  
  
Chess

 

Age: 10-12 (Underland time is super weird, nobody really knows his age, he definitely looks and acts like this age don't you agree?)  
  
Height: 5' 4'' 

Hair Color: Black  
  
Eye color: Green (but you guys knew that, XD)

Skin: Pale (like seriously my boi needs some sun something bad he's a vampire bby)

 

Alys

 

Age: 7 

Height: 4'3'' 

Hair color: Pale blonde (Chess calls it faded gold but whatever)

Eye color: Pale blue (Chess calls these Pool-of-Tears blue. Cuties.)

Skin: Also pale but don't worry not as pale as my trickster son

 

Lewis Carroll

 

Google him he looks the same.

BUT switch the clothing styles and mannerisms because this IS set in England in the 1960s and not the 1860s (lol funny story its because tapes didn't exist in that time so i had to make it so they did. PLUS it adds to the alternate universe funsies i can have~)

 

Nolentine

Ah yes my psycho girl 

Ah yes.   
  


Age: Nobody really knows but there are rumors that she's over 1000 years old. Children's souls work wonders.

Height: 6'7'' (AY SHE IS TALL but we STAN our taller female friends)

Hair color: Black 

Eye color: CREEPY STORY it depends on her mood. If she's feeling nice, they're a nice hazel, but if she's angry then they're black and when she's murderous they're red. But Diom, you might ask, what if she's angry AND murderous?!?! 

 

Dark red, bam. Blood red. And creepy. Seriously it's disturbing to think about her lol

 

WELL that's our main cast of characters thus far, LETS GET TO THE QUESTIONNAIRE   
(we thank you for your patience at this crack monstrosity XD) 

 

 

FD (me): HELLO ALL And WELCOME to our fIRST EVER GAMESHOW for Wonder is Madness! I'm joined today with the characters you all know and love from Lewis Carrolls  _classic_ story Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, with the special guest of Lewis Carroll himself! Let's start! (if you all would like to ask questions i'd be happy to save them for the next time we do this, just in case, y'know, you wanna drop questions :D) 

 

Q: Why did you spell Alice's name to Alys L'Del and not Alice Liddell, like the book? 

 

A: I liked the spelling better, mainly. It's F A N C Y. Besides. Copyright and whatnot. Long story short i just liked the spelling.

 

Q: Why is the Cheshire Cat a human?

 

A: AH SO YOU SEE i was playing around with some crack ideas and stumbled upon a ship. That ship was Chess and Alys. And i'm not really the bestiality type so like. HUMANIFICATION.

 

 

Q: Did you get inspiration from any other works?

  
A: YES i did! I really liked the Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor, and also all the pop culture about "Dark" Wonderland. I kinda threw it together and called it mine. 

 

Q: Why even ship the Cat and Alice?? That's so weird!!!

  
A: ah so you see it all started when- we don't have time. Okay. So pretty much I was interested in how the characters communicated so I was like HEY whaT IF and you know. What if. The place where all crack is born. 

  
Q: Will we find out Chess' real name  
  
A: Duh. I wouldn't have dropped it in there that Chess wasn't his name if i wasn't gonna tell ya. What kind of author does that?   
  
  


Q: What happens to Alys?   
  
A: A lot. A....A  _lot._ I have it sorta mapped out in my head. 

 

Q: is it gonna get....intimate...with Chess and Alys?

A: i mean depends on intimate. Are they gonna kiss ever? i don't know. Alys is a little young for it but I wouldn't hold it past Chess. Aside from that? No, Chess isn't that bad. I might need to add the Underage tag though anyways just in case

 

Q: Why name the Red Queen Nolentine?

  
A: Fantasy Name generators. It sounded cool. 

 

Q: Why merge the Red and White Queens?

A: Obviously for that nice, ripe PLOT TWIST they're the same.  

 

Q: Does Lewis Carroll believe Alys?

  
A: Lol no it's 1960s and its from a 7 year old girl. Now, if something were to happen and i dunno he suddenly gets smacked in the face with proof, he might consider. Aside from that, no. 

 

Q: Why's he using talk therapy when that's now how Asylum patients were treated then? 

A: He sees her as a child and not insane like everyone else. Really he thinks this poor bean is traumatized to the point that everything is symbolic (Eg, the Queen being her mother) in order for her mind to process it. Very common in trauma patients, from what i've researched. 

 

OKAY NOW ONTO THE CHALK  i mean TALK SHOW

 

FD: HELLO we are joined here today with Chess, Alys' guide and friend through Underland! Now, Chess, we have some questions for you. 

C: Okay?

FD: Why did you help Alys? 

C: She was a lost puppy. Seriously. 

FD: Ah yes but have you helped other children before, to escape Nolentine?   
  
C: No

FD: Why the sudden change of heart? 

C: Well because *BEEEEEEP* 

FD: oh, sorry, our censoring machine must have busted (again). Can you say that again?

C: Because *BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP*

C: ...........

FD: oh dear. Looks like this is a spoiler, and this is a spoiler- free zone.Darn. NEXT QUESTION  
  
C: Um-  
  
FD: FANTASTIC okay so our next question: Uhhh. Nevermind. Another question. Hm. *Flips through notecards*   
FD:  HEY JEFF WHY THE *BEEEP* ARE ALL THESE QUESTIONS SPOILERS?!?!

Jeff, *off camera*: They're important questions!

FD: Ugh like aLL of these will spoil something...Oh, here we go. 

FD: Okay, Chess. Your question is: Is there anything you do that you  _know_ Alys hates, and so you do it to annoy her? 

C: Um. Well, I do that joke thing.

FD: Which is?

C: Every time we're in a bad situation, I say "it could be worse, we could be-" and then i insert the situation. She hates that. But it does calm her down a little. 

FD: How so?  
  
C: *Grins* She's too busy trying to deck me to be afraid.   
  
*audience laughs*

FD: Ah, yes, such a lovely friendship. Next Question~ 

FD: OO this is a good one. What are your thoughts on dogs? 

C: Dogs? 

FD: yeah, dogs.

C: They're okay. I like dogs, a lot actually. 

FD: Interesting. 

C: Why? 

FD: IM SORRY, ONLY THE HOST CAN ASK QUESTIONS TONIGHT. 

FD: Have you and Alys ever kissed? 

C: WHAT! Nobody asked that, did they?! 

FD: nah this is me. 

C: Oh. Why would you wanna know that?

FD: *smiles* personal reasons. 

C: ........oohhhhkay how bout No.

*Buzzer goes off* 

FD: WELP that's our time, Thank you Chess. *To Camera* And now, ladies, gents, it's time for Alys!

C: Wait, Alys? *dragged off screen* WAIT HOL _D ON NOW_

\--  
  
FD: Hello Alys, welcome to the show. I'm sure this is a welcome break from the Asylum. 

A: Yeah...

FD: Your first question is: where is your family right now?

A: I lived with my mom and dad and sister.

FD: What happened to them? 

A: they- *BEEEP*

FD: Aw *BEEP* that censor machine! Sorry Alys. For swearing. Oops. _This_ is a mess. Anyhoo.....next question...

FD: What was your favorite part about Underland? 

A: Um. I liked the Pool. 

FD: Why? 

A: *BEEEEP*

FD:  _CAN WE FIX THAT MACHINE PLEASE._ JEFF, AMIGO, HELP. 

Jeff, *off camera* : We can't. It's programmed in. 

FD: UGH

A: .....any other questions? 

FD: Yes. 

FD: Okay so- 

 

*Nolentine is heard screeching in the distance*

A: You brought  _her?!_  
FD: i don't know how she got her. Security?! WHo let her in?!

Nolentine, *off camera*  _I LET IN MYSELF, I AM NOLENTINE THE FIRST, DESCENDANT OF_ *BEEEEEEEP*  _AND I WILL NOT BE OPPRESSED_  
  
  
FD: JEFF HELP 

Jeff, *off screen* GOT IT 

 

*tape snaps to a disheveled FD* 

FD: OKAY that was a wreck. Okay, it's who you've all been waiting for- CHARLES- wait no wrong author- LEWIS CARROLL!  
LC: Hello

FD: Hello! Thank you for being patient after Nolentine slaughtered half our staff. It's been a ride. 

LC: I'd say. 

FD: Now, you and Alys seem to have a nice friendship going. What were your thoughts when you first saw her?

LC: I thought she got caught in a slaughter, here for trauma. 

FD: And what did you learn about her? 

LC: She's just....a lonely child, I believe. So far in our research, she shows signs of an abusive household, 'Chess' being an imaginary 'guardian angel' type of sorts...

FD: *eye twitches while smiling* You didn't see our first guest then.

LC: No i did not. 

FD: Very well then. Welp, i'm out of spoiler free notecards. GOODNIGHT EVERYBODY, AND THANK YOU FOR JOINING US! COME BACK NEXT TIME FOR MORE! UP NEXT, NEWS WITH JEFF!

Jeff: It's bloody and the Queen escaped again. 

FD: THANK YOU JEFF. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading that crack/trash/late night idea! If you enjoyed it and would like to have more questions asked about the characters, please comment below and add "GSQ" at the beginning of your question for the opportunity for it to be answered next! Thank you and our regular updates should be back to normal soon!


	10. The Pool of Tears

The Pool of Tears was the prettiest thing I’d seen in Underland, aside from the Queen’s Garden. It was possibly prettier. For starters, the water was the clearest I’d ever seen- I peered in, seeing all the way to the bottom, and Chess pulled me back a little. 

“Careful, Alys,” he said, like he had with the Caterpillar- but his joking tone was back. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed that. I grinned at him, which he returned. I felt my heart swell up- God, had it only been a few minutes since I’d seen him smile? It felt like years- and I laughed. 

“Why should I be careful this time?” I asked, looking back over at the water. 

“It seems safe.”

“Oh, it’s perfectly  _ safe, _ ” he followed my gaze into the water. “It’s just  _ deep.” _

I stare at the water, which seemed only a few inches deep at most. I knelt down, and began to take off my shoes. 

“What are you doing?” he asked, and I laugh. 

“What’s it look like I’m doing? I’m testing the depth. Unless we can’t swim here.” I added, looking at him hopefully. 

“We can, can’t we?”

“We can.” He nodded, “Technically speaking. We are also allowed to, yes. But not many are mad enough to try.”

“Are you?” I challenged, feeling playful. He laughed, running a hand through his hair. 

“Oh, Alys…” he shook his head, “With you, I certainly will be.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, finishing the removal of my other shoe.

“It means, dear Alys,” he said, sitting down to take off his own shoes, “That you’re going to drive me further into madness than anyone or anything down here ever has. We don’t even have a change of clothes. What are we going to do, then?”

“Duh, wait for them to dry.” I muttered, laughing. “It won’t take that long.” 

I gently stuck my toe in the water, testing to see how cold it was. To my surprise, it was  _ warm.  _

“It’s warm.” i said, stunned. Chess laughed. 

“I forgot to mention. It’s not a hot springs, but a warm one.”

“Warm springs?” 

“Yeah, ever heard of it?” He shook his head. “Alys, I swear, you and your Earth culture is killing me.”

“Weren’t you from Earth to?” I inquired, curious. He laughed. 

“Yes and no.” He finally said, “Now, are you going to swim in the tears or not?” 

“If you quit rushing me,” i shot back. He crossed his arms, watching. I stand up, watching the water. 

My mind still screamed it was barely a puddle. 

I trusted Chess, though, and jumped in.

I plunged under the water, going deeper, deeper, deeper. My feet never hit the bottom. I opened my eyes, and was stunned to see that I could see  _ clearly.  _ My eyes didn’t ache, it didn’t even really feel like I was underwater. 

Curious, and despite all logic telling me  _ no,  _ I took a breath. Expecting water, I got air. Air, but water. 

I was confused. I heard a splash, and turned around to see Chess sinking slowly to join me. I smile, and he returned it. 

I opened my mouth to speak, and out came a bubble. It floated a bit before popping, and then I heard my voice echo across the waters. 

“How does this place work?”

He blew a bubble, and I reached out and popped it, and his voice answered. 

“It seems to me, Alys, that you already figured it out.” 

I stared at him confused, and another bubble from him came. When it popped, his laugh ran across, and I couldn’t help but laugh too. 

I swam back up, looking around for Chess. 

I felt someone pop up behind me, pulling me back under with a laugh. I turned, and saw him smirking, and I was so filled with joy that I grinned back at him. 

The clear water expanded under us, and soon we got out. As expected, our clothes were drenched, and Chess laughed as he looked at me. 

“Alys, you look almost like a drowned rat.” He shook his head, “I bet I don’t look that much better, either..” 

“You don’t,” I teased, standing up, “But that’s fine, clothes will dry.” 

He grinned up at me, and I offered a hand to help him up. He accepted it, and I pulled him up. 

“Where to next?” I asked, “You’re the guide.” 

“Is that a bit of sass I sense, Alys?” He raised a brow, grinning. “Why, I think I’m rubbing off on you…”

“Oh, hush with you,” I sighed, but smiled nonetheless. 

Chess seemed to think for a moment, before smirking at me. 

“How would you like to go to a tea party?”


	11. Tape 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trauma~
> 
> Love u all

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yoooo finally updated, this chapter is short but heyo writing is writing

[Tape begins rolling] 

 

C: good morning, Alys. 

 

A: i don't want to be here anymore. 

 

C: beg pardon? 

 

A: I said, I d-

 

C: I heard, but why? Are you feeling your treatment is inadequate? 

 

A: I don't know what- _sighs_ \- I don't like this place. It's too white…

 

C: stop scratching at your arms, Alys, we must continue. We're too far into your memories to back away now. 

 

A: [whispering] please. I don't wanna be here. 

 

C: you said the Tweedles took you- 

 

A: I said i don't want to be here! I want to go home!

 

C: we don't know where your home is. 

 

A: please, please, please! I don't wanna be here, it's too white, too crowded, PLEASE! 

 

[Unintelligible screaming] 

 

C: [to the side] sedate her. We're done for today. 

 

[Tape shuts off]


End file.
